Zed Head

I had the same problem. I had to seal the complete perimeter of the outside of the glass at the interface with the seal to finally finish off the leak. I tried sealing just the bottom and sides and a bit around the corner at the top but the water must have been folding over the edge and in. Once the full path was sealed, no more leaking. I used black windshield sealant it seems to hold up to the sun best. I also sealed a large portion of the outside of the rubber until I realize how the waster was getting in. I'm on a budget and my car needs a lot more than just a new windshield seal so I haven't dealt with replacing the rubber yet.

I'd focus on this. Maybe he used wire nuts and they vibrated loose. 76 used the AFM contact switch to energize the pump relay. The major downside to having the fuel pump run when the key is on is if the engine dies because a pressurized fuel line split, the pump will just keep pumping. And it's not the rail losing pressure, it's probably the FPR. Could be the pump though.

Do you mean at the speedometer or at the transmission? there are a couple of o-rings n the ned of the cable sheath. I think that CO has posted on fixing that problem. People have reported fluid all the way up the speedometer. Not sure how that happens.

What year car? I've forgotten. I'd assume that you can tell the pump isn't running by the lack of noise? How did you bypass the shut off? Seems like it must have been failing sporadically, maybe overheating, if it is the fuel pump power causing the problem. If you're not sure it was actually the fuel pump power failing, it could be the ECU. What you described is almost exactly what happened to me when my ECU failed. I got close enough to run home and get an ECU that worked. I was testing the one that failed.

The color and the smell are more from just chemical reaction with oxygen. If air is getting in, moisture probably is too, but a good inspection would be worth doing before assuming it needs a lot of work. That smell is one you'll recognize in the future if you're trying to figure out how long a car's been sitting.

The Engine Fuel, and Engine Electrical chapters of the FSM, and the Fuel Injection Guide (1980 version) are the place to start, with a multimeter. Don't assume anything, almost every component can be tested before replacing. This should be called the Fuel Injection guide, not EFI Book - http://www.classiczcars.com/files/file/32-efi-book-1980/ Here's the FSM - http://www.classiczcars.com/files/file/24-1978-280z-factory-service-manual/ Here's all of the Downloads - http://www.classiczcars.com/files/

Not to be a Danny Downer but I wonder if it's vented Part of fit is function. Could be why the parts places say it doesn't "fit".

You have a dilemma. Pretty sure that the DMV of the state of registration would have that. Could also be that your father changed titles but didn't register the car. Seems like all roads lead to the DMV. I don't know that I've seen a DMV program that will give owner information anyway, just by plugging in a VIN. Do they do that?

Sorry, I don't know what the Datsun decoder is. Most states have a lost title process at their DMV. I would call your local DMV office and explain the situation. If it's in your father's name and you're his son, there's probably a simple estate transfer procedure. I'm sure that your situation is common. Sorry to hear about your father. Good luck.

No idea what you're trying to do. Trace it down where, and for what purpose? "Not identified" where? Most DMV softwares don't know what to do with a 280Z VIN.

Did you replace all of these things after the problem occurred? Or is this just a list of new parts? And did you replace the actual ignition relay (passenger foot well) or the fuel injection relay (above hood release handle)? And are they new parts or used parts? The click from the passenger foot well is probably the ignition relay. The ignition relays are in a bad spot for moisture. Are the battery connections clean and tight? A loose or dirty connection will open up when current heats it. Same with a fusible link connection. Check those. When you turn the key to On, more current flows. It also flows through a different portion of the ignition relay. I just realized though that I don't understand Nissan's schematic for the ignition relay at all. I assume that four triangles are showing two relays. Anyway, a separate circuit for Acc and On. Finally, after "everything goes out", does everything come back when you move the key back to Acc? You could jump the circuits at the plug if you wanted to check them. Good luck.,

The thing about electrical connectors is that we tend to assume that if the plastic fits, the metal parts are touching and electricity can flow. All I'm saying is make sure that electricity can actually pass through the injector coil. I have a bunch of alligator clips, and wire, and stripped solid core wire that I've crushed in to probes, so that I can be certain of things like this. How many times have we wiggled the plastic on a connector and seen it affect the actual electrical contacts? This is all just to know if the it's really bad. If he has a pile of spare injectors and one works, he could just throw it in and run it. I tend to take my broken stuff apart to know why it's broken. When I'm done it's usually more broken. Sometimes it ends up fixed though.

I was talking about 26th-Z's #15 post. I don't know that we'd learn much on our cars doing that.

Thanks. Reading back through the posts it looks like it would have value to a true Z car aficionado due to its uniqueness. I don't think that the OP is realizing that the people here have the most expertise in the area of anyone else he could find. He's stuck on what the documents show, but doesn't understand the idiosyncrasies of the early Datsun manufacturing. It's most valuable to the people who know these things, so no use arguing about it. Best to stick head up under dash and get more data. Actually, with today's technology you just have to stick a camera phone up there.

How common is it in Europe? If location on the globe is that important, seems like there'd be a big push to import Fairlady Z's to the States. In short - what's it worth, with the cut fender wells? I'm trying to figure out if this is something special, or just an old Datsun. Is it the "1973 240Z" of Europe? Nice but nothing special. Is it rare everywhere or just rare in the States?

A little extra for SteveJ's post - the unleaded filler tubes are smaller than the early leaded gas filler tubes. 78 is unleaded, 76 is leaded.

I adjust mine cold, then remeasure hot. Lash gets looser when the engine heats up so if you make a mistake too tight when cold, the odds of burning a valve are lower. Plus most of them will still be in spec. so you end up spending less time over a hot engine. Actually, mine have always stayed in spec. on the hot measurement. The principles of materials and thermal expansion suggest that they should all change to the same degree. Nissan probably got rid of the cold spec. because it caused confusion in the shop (how cold is cold?) and tuneups are usually done within a few hours. Otherwise a tune-up would be a leave-it-overnight job. Just talking... On why the lash isn't what you thought it was - when you tighten the locknut you actually change the lash, pulling the pivot up against the threads of its hole. Plus, it's easy to get a little bit off of the base circle of the cam lobe.

Only posting as a fan of rigor and method. Did you actually try "all" of the other connectors? You've shown, according to your other posts with the 9 volt battery, that the bad injector will open electrically. The solenoid will take current and produce a magnetic field and the pintle will move. But you haven't confirmed that the current available at the connector on the car is making it through the injector coil. If it was mine, and I had your results, I'd run two jumpers from the engine electrical connector, measure voltage at each and then make sure that each pin in the injector got that voltage. I would have done that right after it opened using the 9 volt battery. Once you know that the current available at the car won't open the injector there's no need to swap it around. You already know the injector "works" but won't work on your car.

The guys with the hoses will just bend/break the lid open. One other problem with the lockable caps is that they're tall. They won't fit under the lid. Probably have to do some body work to make a truly functional lockable cap. I've spent some time pondering mine. I've already converted it to leaded fuel only style, so that the nozzle won't fall out when filling, but also thought about gas thieves. Not many options. She might get a "diesel fuel only" sticker just to throw off any gas thieves.

Actually, the screwdriver test will also show a bad electrical connection, the two pins on the injector, maybe. The OP's is doing and thinking about a lot of stuff, and the fact that the injector worked electrically, off of the car, might have been overlooked. If the spare injector connector worked it might be worthwhile to clean up the injector pins or even replace that connector, or bend the pins so that better contact is made. It could just be an electrical contact issue. The stock EFI connectors are known to be of poor quality after 30 years of heat. The spare connector might have made better contact than the old corroded ones on the engine now. " Took bad injector off, and used the 9v method to get it opening/spraying off the car with spare injector connector. i did this to my "spare" used injectors too. Off the car, they all clicked and were not clogged. "

Would somebody buy this to restore or collect? And do the flares really look like "light modification"? If the body is intact underneath, maybe, but I'd guess it's been cut. Not a 240Z guy, don't know what people look for, just curious. It's sounding more like a fairly run-of-the-mill Fairlady 240Z, isn't it?

I've had the thought that the extra resistance is more for the ECU circuitry than the injectors. The injector solenoids are covered in fuel. 2.5 ohms gives 4.8 amps at 12 volts. A few clicks using a 12 volt battery doesn't seem too damaging. I've done it with some and they seemed fine afterward. No smoke. Aren't the resistors 6 ohms? 12 / (6+2.5) = 1.4 vs. 9/2.5 = 3.6 at the asymptote. So, maybe not enough current to open up a gummy or rusted injector. You might just let some fuel blow through the "bad" injector to see if it will clear up. Nissan used tan and light green for it's NA injectors, and purplish brown for turbo. Black is aftermarket. The codes will be hard to see, molded or stamped in to the plastic plug portion. FJ707, A11...., 280 150... are examples.

The workings of the 280ZX distributor are definitely more mysterious than the 280Z's. But they do call it a magnet in the manual. I guess the real question is "does the magnet need to be intact to work at full function?". Apparently, they still work when broken, but how well?

Who flared the rear wheel wells? Don't forget the engine serial number.

Looks like your "gas gushing out" problem is back, the problem that disappeared miraculously. You probably have a stuck or shorted injector, maybe a shorted/bad ECU. Actually, flooding is one of the signs of a bad ECU. Along with no-start. I had a bad ECU and it did both. People have fixed the problem temporarily by tapping/beating on the side of the ECU and/or wiggling the ECU connector.